


October 2017

by ArtisticVicu



Series: Monthly Prompt Writings [13]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Halloween, M/M, Magic, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Character(s), Zombie Apocalypse, multiple stories, physical limits, self-sacrificing to take out the bad guy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23419135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtisticVicu/pseuds/ArtisticVicu
Summary: Each chapter is a different story.Chapter 1:She was a Magic just like them but from a land with far less potency. Now she had more magic than her body could properly channel and it was slowly destroying her. When a lacky becomes a supervillain because of it, she's left with no choice but do everything she can to stop the new supervillain, even if it costs her her life.Chapter 2:A system was put in place as the world was faced with a zombie apocalypse. But when something goes wrong, she's the only one that can get them eyes on the situation fast enough.Chapter 3:He released the breath of smoke, turning his gaze over the street again. He scratched at his ear, growing bored. As much as he enjoyed people watching and contemplating the costumes running about, he was growing bored. He dug out the old pocket watch he couldn't seem to be without and popped it open. The hands shown that it wasn't all that late in the evening, though the sun had already set due to the higher latitude. While the information was useful, it hadn't been what he was looking for and he swiped his thumb over the glass, watching as the face of the watch melted into what he had been wanting to look at.
Series: Monthly Prompt Writings [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684405





	1. The Cool Breeze

Magic crackled around her hands. It burned and ate at the appendages but she ignored it. She had to. She ran as hard as she could towards the fight as his magic curled around her and suddenly they were in the midst of the battle. She adapted to the sudden change in location and lashed out with magic that was foreign to her body and far more potent than the magic from her home region. She threw creatures about, delaying the inevitable of those around her as one by one every person she was trying to save - that they were trying to save - were turned to stone.  
  
Suddenly, he was the only living thing not turned to stone that she could see fighting with her, rather than against her. Panic flooded her and she lashed out at the creatures trying to turn her to stone as well. It cleared the way enough for her to catch sight of two Magics in a losing fight against Orbicas. Every attack they sent his way did little and he only laughed, high and sharp, at their pitiful attempts to binding him. He zapped them of more magic, and she watched in horror as the eldest of the pair crashed to her knees, her once magic saturated hair limp and dull against her back as her legs started to turn to stone. The cool breeze was the only thing that made her hair move now and even that was not going to be enough.  
  
"Solis!" the younger cried loud enough that she heard it even from where she stood so far away. But the sudden push from seeing the eldest fall to her knees slowly changing mattered little as Orbicas flicked his wrist and the younger was thrown to the ground, her own legs slowly turning to stone.  
  
"Dissonance!" she yelled, lashing out at the surrounding creatures again. He was suddenly at her side, his magic wrapping around her as she reached out carefully with hers. The mental link was briefly formed, barely a whisper in both their minds, but it was enough to pass on the message of what had to be done, the plan she had roughly formed. It was enough and the connection snapped apart. He shot off like a bullet, slamming into Orbicas with a force that clearly surprised the overpowered lackey. She felt her heart go out to the region; to be tormented by someone that had normally been ranked as a lowlife and not the villain he was now was frightening. If the villain over Orbicas's head ever found out about this magic saturated region, the entire world would suffer and none of them would be able to do anything about it.  
  
She shoved the thought aside as magic licked at her body, dragging her through space and relocating her just before the two Magics of the region, her hands starting to bleed. Dissonance was flung skyward but she had no time to worry. It would work out well in the end as she reached up and unleashed her own magic.  
  
Orbicas was suddenly ensnared in chains far stronger than anything he could break out of, even with his sudden power boost. He glared at her, challenging, "You think you can do me any damage when the two Magics behind you could do nothing?!"  
  
"Echo," the young Magic behind her whispered. Her name drew her attention but her magic never wavered and she couldn't spare the Magic a glance. Didn't seem she needed to as the young Magic pressed on in a strained voice, "Be....careful."  
  
There was a final crackle before silence fell behind her. Both Magics were now fully stone and Echo allowed her eyes to slide shut in silent mourning. Orbicas cackled above her and she opened her eyes to glare at him. "See! Not even she was safe from my power!"  
  
Echo gave a vicious grin as she took in the massive ball of magical energy Dissonance was collecting in his upturned palm. He was so small and the mass of magic was so large. Echo shoved Orbicas far out to the center of the crater he had originally made, magic humming through her body painfully. It ringed the crater as Dissonance finished off the collection.  
  
"I'm not concerned for my safety," Echo spoke, her words soft but her ability to create mental links carrying her words for her as she lost a bit of her control. She had lost her finite control coming here and she could no longer care for its loss. The magic that had ringed the crater slowly edged skyward, slowly constructing a shield. "I'm more concerned about making sure there's nothing left of you to harm another soul again."  
  
Dissonance threw his hand down. The gesture dragged him out of the way as the mass of magic descended.  
  
"What?!" Orbicas squawked, his gaze snapping skywards. His eyes widened as the orb began to increase in speed. Orbicas suddenly started fighting his bonds and Echo grunted under the strain of holding him tight and waiting to throw up the shield. "No!"  
  
She looked beyond the magical attack and made eye contact with Dissonance. She watched as the satisfaction on his face bled into confusion. The moment he realized what she was doing, the magical attack was where she needed to be and released her hold on her magic.  
  
He screamed her name but it was too late and she gave him an encouraging smile as the magical attack first engulfed Orbicas before touching the ground. The shield solidified into a dome just as the ball of potential reacted.  
  
The explosion ripped at the ground with nowhere else to go with the shield in place. She was slammed backwards into the solid shield wall behind her and, as Orbicas's screams mingled with the sound of the explosion itself, her mind was swallowed by white before being engulfed in darkness. She prayed as her mind slipped into unconsciousness that her shield held long enough for the damage done by the explosion was contained.  
  
A once familiar magic burned across her being and the scream ripped itself from her throat. Consciousness did not bring coherence, and the body wrapped around her felt like a branding iron at every point of contact. She had so little strength, though, and while she tried to get away, all it did was cause her body to writhe in pain.  
  
Eventually, eventually, the pain diminished and exhaustion threatened to pull her under again. But the form holding her was shaking and she could make out the sound of crying. She forced her eyes open with what strength she had left and frowned up at the blurry sight before her. She couldn't make heads or tails of what she was seeing but glimpses of color and the voice accompanying the crying had her drawing a tentative conclusion.  
  
"Dissonance?" Her voice was raspy and weak, but he seemed to hear her just fine as he jerked around her. He cupped her cheek, his words washing over her without leaving an impression. She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes but couldn't give into her exhaustion quite yet. "Did it work?"  
  
"Yes," came the choked reply. She was glad that the word didn't just brush her by. "Yes, the others are being freed now."  
  
"I'm glad." She wasn't sure she had fallen asleep or not but when she opened her eyes again, they were moving, albeit slowly. "I'm so tired."  
  
He shifted her about and she felt his cheek press against the top of her forehead. "Go to sleep, Echo. I've got you now. Everything will be alright."  
  
She tried to hum in reply but it didn't come out right and she didn't care enough to correct it as she finally succumbed to her exhaustion.


	2. Zombie apocalypse...

Screaming echoed through the crowded streets as everyone fled towards the heart of the city. The mass of bodies surged this way and that and she forced her way through. Her throat was already raw from yelling for people to move deeper, to keep going.  
  
And just as abruptly as the chaos had ensued, she was free of the crowd, stumbling from the sudden lack of pressing bodies. She brought her weapon into her hands and settled on a knee right there in the middle of the street. Ahead of her was a lumbering hoard of undead and a sneer settled on her face. She took aim and shot. The resounding explosion ripped through a hardy chunk. Three more shots went off, though none were hers, and three more explosions joined her own.  
  
"How did they manage to get over the wall?" someone shouted over the comm. They were to her right some distance meaning she got an annoying echo.  
  
"Doesn't matter," came a calm voice over the comm in her ear. "Take them out."  
  
"Working on it, Boss," the male that had settled at her side responded. His weapon discharged and the resounding explosion not only took out a part of the hoard, but brought down a building as well, crushing a much hardier section.  
  
"Watch the collateral damage, Gilroy!" a different voice barked over the comm. The lack of background noise suggested that the figure was with "Boss".  
  
"Easy, Lyvis," she countered, taking out the building on the opposite side of the street as well. "He's doing us a favor."  
  
Lyvis groaned. "Come on, guys. Our orders are to take them out with minimal collateral damage here. We don't have the supplies we did before the Event to repair the things you're destroying."  
  
There came a chortle through the comm, background noise suggesting that whoever it was was nearby. "Hate to point this out, but the damage we deal will be minimal compared to what they're doing."  
  
"Agreed," came Boss's calm voice. "Keep them corralled. Use buildings if it's efficient only. Understood?"  
  
"Yes, Sir!" came the chorused response.  
  
Gilroy took a step forward beside her, taking control. "Alright, Dan, take yer team and head south. Acal, north. Circle and keep the undead centered on this street if you can. Make it to the wall if you can and spread back this way. We need eyes on that wall yesterday."  
  
The two squads broke off, leaving her with Gilroy's squad. She briefly wondered where hers was at.  
  
"How you handling, Eka?"  
  
She straightened but kept up her attack. She didn't recognize the voice but the background noise seemed to suggest they were close. "Well. Why?"  
  
"Your squad got cut off ."  
  
She frowned at the stranger's words and took the chance to look back. Gilroy's squad had a hold on things anyways.  
  
She felt sick as she turned around, bringing her weapon up and firing a shot. "The line's been breached!" she shouted across the comm.  
  
There was a ruckus of demands for clarifications but she ignored the majority of the noise. Made no use to decipher what she couldn't understand until a voice cut through the static of voices.  
  
"Eka! Get us eyes!"  
  
"On it, Lyris!" she responded in kind, glancing at Gilroy as she barked, "Keep me covered."  
  
She got a brisk nod before she took off towards the building beside her.  
  
The automatic doors slid open for her and she took off through the empty structure towards the elevator. "Copris, am I clear to use the elevator?"  
  
"Should be," came the drawl of the techie. "Door on the left opening now. Teams are being advised to avoid damaging the building you're currently occupying."  
  
"Appreciated," she shot back as she slid into the elevator that dinged open. "Get me to the top floor."  
  
"Express elevator going up."  
  
The doors slid shut.  
  
The ride was longer than she would have liked but it was far faster than stairs any rate. She filled the time prepping. "Roof access?"  
  
Corpis answered, "Left out of the elevator and down the right hall. Third hallway on the left, fifth door down. Should be another hallway. Access should be through the door at the end. Take the stairs up."  
  
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.  
  
An undead lunged at her and she cried out as she dropped. She rammed her gun in the undead's gut and shoved them over her shoulder. She stepped out of the elevator into a small crowd of the creatures. "Corpis, how long till the elevator doors close."  
  
"As long as you need."  
  
She shoved another one into the elevator, making the first one collapse again. "Fifteen seconds."  
  
"Countdown begun."  
  
She shoved a third and fourth in with a bit more effort that she would have preferred. "Can you check to see if there are any more in here?"  
  
"No," came his quick response as she was slammed into the wall. "There are no cameras on that floor I can access."  
  
"Great," she ground out before shoving the fifth into the sixth and shoving them both into the elevator. The doors slid shut. "Can you drop it?"  
  
"Already on it."  
  
She moved, not caring to stick about to find out if that worked or not. She came across three more, a pair and a single, but it was rather easy to take care of them seeing as she surprised them. As soon as she was in the hallway towards the stairs, she called out, "Lyris, almost to the roof. Boss, how's it looking out there."  
  
"Hard to tell," Boss spoke, sounding far more severe than she had heard him before and she had seen him when Gilroy had been held at gunpoint. That had been scary. This was far more disconcerting. "We need eyes."  
  
"Almost there."  
  
The door banged open as she brought her weapon up but the stairway was clear. At least, the section she needed. She didn't know about the lower floors. Taking the stairs two at a time, she was out onto the roof shortly there after. She raced across the roof, slamming into the low wall that rimmed the expanse. She jerked equipment about, setting up in record time. She flicked a switch and the feeds went life.  
  
There was a breath of silent, the only noise drifting up towards her from below before a voice came across the comm.  
  
"Gods help us," Lyvis uttered breathlessly as he took control of the cameras.  
  
Eka's brought her head up and around, finding the view to the wall clear of obstacles. She closed her eyes against the sense of defeat rushed over, numbing her as the camera recording what she saw stayed on the view of desolated lands beyond the now crumbling wall with a sea of undead crashing against the city's failing defense.  
  
"Gods help up all," Boss agreed, his voice the only thing coming over the dead comm.  
  
Eka opened her eyes, resigned. "The zombie apocalypse is upon us."  
  
Soft, broken crying came over the comm. There was nothing from the teams on the ground below.


	3. This is Halloween

Chatter and laughter filled the streets of the generally quiet neighborhood. Children squealed and raced about decked out in a costume of their choosing. Ninjas, ballerinas, pirates, and superheroes of all kinds blended with robots, villains, and any sort of concoction a child's mind could come up with. Some were store bought, some were homemade, and a small number were clearly thrift store creations, though not a single kid seemed to care. Already that night a butterfly princess and a ninja ballerina had raced passed to the next house, not to mention a number of things he didn't recognize but not a single face showed any sadness or dislike for the costume they wore. He smiled at the parents he passed, greeting those with soft words that spoke them first and giving nods to those that offered no such words. Everyone, though, was in good spirits, and that was all that mattered.  
  
He brought the cigarette to his lips, taking a slow pull as he came to a stop at the corner. This deep into the neighborhood at the given time meant that traffic was near nonexistent, especially with the holiday, so adults walked crowds of kids through the street, lenient on the rule of playing in the streets till the random vehicle came crawling by. He released the breath of smoke, watching a group of children that had clearly planned their costumes with each other cut across the intersection he stood at, the chaperones trailing behind chatting. He brought the cigarette to his lips again, looking about as a thought came to mind.  
  
Sure enough, the majority of the adults walking about weren't in any obvious costume. There were the spatterings of adults in costumes but they generally had a kiddo in a costume that was far too young to even understand what trick-or-treating was, let alone understand what was even going on. These parents also generally had other kids with them so it was an assumption that the candy would be spread among the kids at the end of the night and stashed away for the adults to enjoy at a later time.  
  
He released the breath of smoke, turning his gaze over the street again. He scratched at his ear, growing bored. As much as he enjoyed people watching and contemplating the costumes running about, he was growing bored. He dug out the old pocket watch he couldn't seem to be without and popped it open. The hands shown that it wasn't all that late in the evening, though the sun had already set due to the higher latitude. While the information was useful, it hadn't been what he was looking for and he swiped his thumb over the glass, watching as the face of the watch melted into what he had been wanting to look at.  
  
The ink on the watch's face began to bleed. The gorgeous background bled this way and that, colors coming forth that hadn't been part of the numbers nor the background itself. Soon, the entire thing redrew and re-orientated itself into several things. First, a compass, the smallest hand from the clock shifting to become the needle. Second, a ring of images, the largest hand staying in place. Third, an odd sort of grid that took up what the tiny compass in the center left untouched and the seconds hand started to rotate clockwise smoothly in a manner that didn't match the speed of a second passing. It picked up speed and soon it became almost invisible as it spun on its axis at an amazing rate. The seconds hand lit up and suddenly there were dots all over the grid of different colors. He used the crown to zoom in and the grid shifted as the lights moved. Soon there were only a few lights and he easily picked out who they belonged to without having to strain. He pulled the crown in the up position and the hour hand started to slowly move counterclockwise. It made three full rotations before stopping on an image, swinging clockwise, stopping on a different image not even opposite image, and then moving counterclockwise to the opposite side of the other image, nearly making it all the way around to the second image only to stop. This time it continued on counterclockwise only to pause on the third image before going clockwise. The hour hand swung this way and that, almost at random and picking up speed. Eventually, it would seem to make no sense at all going this way and that, bounding from image to image, pausing at certain images more than others, and any onlooker would be amazed to see his expression blank beyond the attentiveness in his gaze upon the swiveling hour hand.  
  
When the hour hand came to a stop at the 12 o'clock position resting on the line between two images, he rolled the crown between his fingers, zooming the grid out a bit. A few dots were moving towards him and he smiled. He swiped his thumb over the glass of the watch once more before snapping the lid shut and pocketing the watch.  
  
He turned, smiling at his friends as he put his cigarette out.  
  
"Bout time," he commented, voice scratchy around the edges. "Thought you'd never show up."  
  
"That pocket watch of yours didn't tell ya we got caught in traffic?" the smallest of his friends challenges, eyes glinting in a way that spoke more than simply human.  
  
He shrugged. "Hard to tell what it's trying to say more times than not."  
  
"Lies!" came a comment from somewhere near the back. He looked towards the back, pegging the shortest dude with an arched eyebrow and an amused smile. The dude grinned at him, hefting the fake ax onto his shoulder. "What? You are clearly lying. We all know it."  
  
"Eh," he responded, shrugging again even as a large smile broke across his face. Proper greetings swiftly followed before the group meandered down the street.  
  
He itched to pull out another cigarette and light it simply for something to do with his hands. Thankfully his boyfriend came to the rescue by slipping their hand into his and holding tight. Though he later realized that it was so his boyfriend could slow them down, separate them enough from the group to speak.  
  
"What _did_ the watch say?" his boyfriend asked, eyes mildly concerned.  
  
He sighed, running a hand over the back of his neck. "Nothing good, at least. Supposedly this is the last Halloween like this, whatever that means."  
  
His boyfriend frowned, hand tightening around his. "Something bad?"  
  
He shook his head. "It's never that straightforward and with my filters, my interpretation could be off. It simply said that change is coming, that the next Halloween will not be like this."  
  
Again, his boyfriend's hand tightened around his and he registered that both were attempts to comfort and assure. "Maybe it just means we'll be dealing with a larger or different friend group or something."  
  
He glanced over his boyfriend's head, eyes catching the glint of fake gold of a crown in a fake wig. His hand convulsed around his boyfriend's hand, seeing his boyfriend's gaze snap to the object as well. The urge to keep his boyfriend calm was a reflex bred out of years of being with said boyfriend but thankfully it was an invisible reaction to most. The magic wrapped protectively - and almost possessively - around his boyfriend, drawing said boyfriend's gaze away from the fake crown and back to him. There was a soft smile on his boyfriend's face and once more the hand around his tightened in a show of comfort and assurance. "It's fine. I'm not so easily swayed anymore."  
  
He brought the hand up to press a gentle kiss to the knuckles, offering, "I forget sometimes how much control you have now and sometimes simply react."  
  
His boyfriend beamed at him, reaching up with their free hand to cup his cheek. "I would much rather you react out of habit than take the chance of my control slipping without your magic there to keep me in this human form. The longer I'm in it, the easier it is to suppress my instincts but not even I can resist the call to hoard sometime."  
  
He smiled gently, leaning into the touch. "Then why be a dragon at all? I could change you so very easily."  
  
His boyfriend shook their head, offering in kind, "I quite enjoy being able to fly as much as you quite enjoy being able to wield magic as you do. That and I will always be of dragon blood. Even using magic to turn me human would not change that. I would retain aspects of my draconian self, hording included."  
  
He gave a gentle laugh. "True." He looked over to where their friends were waiting for them before focusing back on his boyfriend. "Come on. The portal closes in a few hours and we still have a party to get to."  
  
His boyfriend fell into step beside him as they made their way towards the group. His boyfriend did inquire, though, "How did you manage to get invited to a party not even in our realm?"  
  
He grinned. "Surprisingly, friendships transcend even the boundaries of realms and dimensions. Not sure how they ever managed to send the invite to begin with, but apparently there are going to be more from other worlds than those that are from this given realm."  
  
His boyfriend grinned in turn, showing off far more teeth than he had and the shiver that raced down his back no longer held fear like it used to. Even human a dragon's grin was something to be wary of. He had seen it too many times, though, to associate it with anything negative now. Well, negative towards himself. Other people were screwed. A dragon's amusement came from more than harmless pranks. "I do hope I get to make a few...acquaintances with a few other world guests."  
  
He laughed, feeling as if he should feel sorry for his boyfriend's newest victims at the Halloween Party. Instead, all he felt was joy and anticipation to see who would be able to meet his boyfriend head-on in a battle of wits, pranks, and magic. "You will probably make a many acquaintance without trying. This is Halloween, after all. All those that do not belong here come out for the night."


End file.
